Yorkville cookbook store to move

Destination for foodies will make way for condo tower

A piece of Toronto's culinary history will soon be forced to relocate.

The building that houses The Cookbook Store — a fixture in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood for 30 years — is due to be replaced with a condo tower. It's a change that doesn't sit well with many Toronto foodies.

Neil Phillips has browsed the shelves of The Cookbook store for three decades and says he finds delicious morsels of culinary literature with each visit.

"With me it's a lot of the wine books," he told CBC News. "There are a million wine books out there, but there are some that are special."

Author Lucy Waverman said the store has become a hub of culinary culture.

"We know all the people who work here, they know us, the chefs come in. It's been an amazing institution for the city of Toronto," she said.

Since opening in 1983, the store's special focus on food and drink has brought Anthony Bourdain, Martha Stewart even cooking legend Julia Child to the small space.

Manager Alison Fryer says she's sorry to see it move.

"It is kind of sad, we open up the doors every morning and sweep the sidewalk and walk across the lovely wooden floors. There is a real nostalgia," she said.

The Cookbook Store in Yorkville will be forced to move. The store, a fixture for foodies, will make way for a condo development. (CBC)

Developer Michael Gold says he hopes to break ground on a 58-storey condo tower on the site by the end of next year.

The first three floors of 1 Yorkville will be commercial space and Gold says he's open to having the store return.

"They have not approached us about staying there," Gold said.

Fryer, however, says she hasn't had much communication with the developer and isn't sure where the store will relocate.

Wherever the new location, faithful customers like Phillips says he believes the new store will thrive no matter where it's located.

"I think this could be anywhere in the city," he said. "This is absolutely a destination store."

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